My Culinary Adventures in the Great Recession

I am having fun with my culinary adventures in the Great Recession. Now, this is one good thing to come out of this horrible situation - with many of us eating more at home, our pots and pans are getting a little more use. There's a reason that so many financially-challenged people are such wonderful cooks - when you have less money, you have to get more creative in the kitchen.

I'll give you a recounting of two of my culinary adventures in the Great Recession. The day before yesterday, I attempted East Indian cuisine for the first time. I had previously avoided taking on any projects associated with this cuisine, as it usually involves pages of ingredients, massive prep and massive cooking time. To give you an idea, to make a proper biryani you have to spend all day in the kitchen. That's not to say that the final result isn't worth the effort - it's just that I don't have an entire day to devote to the cause. Well, upon my husband's encouragement I finally attempted Chicken Palak, which is basically chicken smothered in a very spicy spinach sauce. There are many variations on this recipe. Many versions use either milk or yogurt in the sauce. I chose a recipe that used yogurt. After lots of chopping, sautéing and even a session with our Cuisinart, I finally produced the dish. Unfortunately, due to a confusing passage in the recipe, I attempted to puree a cinnamon stick and bay leaf with the spinach, for which I was roundly reprimanded afterwards. ("You can't puree a cinnamon stick! You have to pulverize it!") My husband was absolutely right - the sauce had noticeable chunks of cinnamon throughout, which were not wonderful. The dish was not a total loss, although my husband complained afterwards of possibly cracking a tooth ... maybe I shouldn't become a chef, after all! One more career option right down the drain!

The second of my culinary adventures in the Great Recession involved Thai cuisine. This was, happily, a little more successful. I made Curried Chicken-Coconut Soup, which also involved more prep than I am accustomed to devoting to dinner. It involved me taking out my long-neglected pressure cooker and using it, about which I was not ecstatic. First you throw chicken broth, coconut milk, green onions, curry powder, lemongrass, fresh ginger and raw chicken into the pressure cooker. After this cooks, you finely dice the cooked chicken, throw it back in the pot, add six ounces of fresh spinach and some lime juice, and cook it up for about a minute. The final step is to garnish the soup with fresh cilantro. I love the sweet, sour and milky combination in Thai soup, and this one really delivers. My son even liked this soup! This is a good choice for kids and adults alike. If you would like to try this recipe, here's the link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Curried-Chicken-Coconut-Soup-108607. I highly recommend it (and my son does, too!).

So maybe we'll all come out of this horrible experience with a few more culinary tricks at our disposal. Hey, I can dream, can't I?